Push button valve

ABSTRACT

An off-on valve operated by a pivotable handle, the valve member of which consists of a main diaphragm and an auxiliary diaphragm wherein the movement of the central portion of the main diaphragm through the seat of the valve is prevented by a socket securing the auxiliary diaphragm to the main diaphragm, a compressible stem is arranged between the auxiliary diaphragm and the handle and is moved by means of a cam on the handle for manoeuvring the valve body, the handle being kept in two stable end positions by means of the reaction force of the stem acting upon the cam of the handle.

United States Patent m1 Katva Sept. 4, 1973 [54] PUSH BUTTON VALVEFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Inventor; Kunto llmari Katya, Funen524,803 5/1956 Canada 251/45 Denmark 7 Primary Examiner- ArnoldRosenthal [73] Assignee: Broen Armatur A/S, Assens, Funen,Attorney-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson Denmark [22] Filed: Nov. 29,1971 [21] Appl. No.: 202,915 [57] ABSTRACT I An off-on valve operated bya pivotable handle, the [30] Foreign Application Priority Data valvemember of which consists of a main diaphragm and an auxiliary diaphragmwherein the movement of Nov. 30, 1972 Denmark ..6097/72 the CentralPortion of the main diaphragm through the seat of the valve is preventedby a socket securing the [52] US. Cl 251/45, 251/121, 251/263 auxiliarydiaphragm to u i diaphragm a [51] Int. Cl. Fl6k 31/385 pressible stem isarranged between the auxiliary i [58] Field 01 Search 251/45, 46, 263,phragm and the handle and is moved b means f cam 251/121 on the handlefor manoeuvring the valve body, the handle being kept in two stable endpositions by means of Reterences C'ted the reaction force of the stemacting upon the cam of UNITED STATES PATENTS the handle.

1,706,404 3/1929 Jacobson et a1. 251/45 3,055,630 9/1962 Becker 251/45 4Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 30 37 4 {0 3 A /5 28 4 Jr- 29" I a 9 PUSHBUTTON VALVE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relatesto a valve of the kind comprising a valve housing having an inlet ductand an outlet duct between which a valve seat is provided, a diaphragmfor cooperation with the valve seat and a handle for moving thediaphragm against the valve seat, the handle being pivotally mountedabout a pin and having a cam surface arranged excentrically with respectto the pin, a stem being slidably mounted in the valve housing betweenthe diaphragm and the cam surface of the handle to move the diaphragm.

A valve of this type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,497,577.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a valve of the typereferred to having two stable end positions, viz. an stable openposition and a stable closed position without over-stretching thediaphragm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention this objectis achieved by an auxiliary diaphragm mounted on the side of the maindiaphragm facing the stem by means of a socket, the outer diameter ofwhich is greater than the inner diameter of the valve seat and in thatthe stem is hollow and contains a spring and a pressure member slidablyin the stem and protruding therefrom for cooperation with the maindiaphragm via the auxiliary diaphragm. By means of this construction itis achieved that the socket by means of which the auxiliary diaphragm ismounted will prevent the main diaphragm from being over-stretched whenthe handle is pivoted from one stable end position to another stable endposition for closing the valve.

In order to be able to adjust the valve in such a way that the flow rateof the medium through the valve in the open position thereof does notexceed an appropriate value an adjustable throttle member may beprovided in the inlet duct or the outlet duct.

If the throttle member is arranged in the outlet duct the throttlemember may consist of a rotatable cylinder, the end surface of which isformed as a part of a cylindrical surface extending into a knee formedby means of the outlet duct.

The main diaphragm may be provided with at least one hole positioned inthe portion of the main diaphragm which in the closed position of themain diaphragm is positioned within the valve seat and the auxiliarydiaphragm may have a hole which is offset with respect to the hole inthe main diaphragm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I illustrates an axial sectionthrough a valve according to the invention, and

FIG. 2 a section along the line IIII.in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The valve illustrated consistsof a valve housing I having an inlet duct 2 and an outlet duct 3.Between the two ducts a valve seat 4 is provided which cooperates with avalve body 6 which is operated by means of a handle 5. The valve bodycomprises a main diaphragm 7 the peripheral margin of which is securedin a recess 8 by means ofa shallow cup 9 having a depressed bottom. Theback side of the cup supports a cylindrical guide 10 for a stemcomprising a head 11 in the form of a piston which is sealed withrespect to the cylinder 10 by means of a sealing ring 12. Between thehead of the stern and the inner end of the guide 10 a pressure spring 13is provided and within the hollow stem a further pressure spring 14 isarranged which biases a ball 15 in the direction towards the valve seat4. To the surface of the main diaphragm 7 facing the stem an auxiliarydiaphragm 17 is secured by means of a socket 16. The socket 16 issecured to the main diaphragm by means of a hollow rivet 17a which inthe position of the diaphragm 7 shown in FIG. 1 allows communicationbetween the two sides of the diaphragm 7. Two holes 18 are provided inthe auxiliary diaphragm l7 offset with respect to the hole through thehollow rivet 17a. The outer diameter of the socket 16 is greater thanthe inner diameter of the valve seat 4. The rivet 17a also secures aplate 20 at the front surface of the main diaphragm.

In the main diaphragm 7 a further hole 19 is provided outside the areaopposite the valve seat 4 for communication between the inlet duct 2 ofthe' valve and the space in the valve housing above the main diaphragm7.

The cup 9 is secured by means of a ring 22 which by means of two screws23, cf. FIG. 2, is secured in the valve housing 1. The ring 22 hasv twoears 24 which serve as supports for two pivots 25 about'which the handle5 is pivotally mounted. In FIG. I, the common axis for the two pivots 25is indicated by means of a cross to the right of the ball 15.

A recess 26 is provided at the inner surface of the handle 5 and aspring 27 is arranged in the recess. The outer surface of the spring 26forms a cam surface for a roll 28 which is pivotally mounted at the endof the head 11 projecting from the guide 10. The cam surface iseccentrically arranged with respect to the axisof the' pivots 25 and hasa curvature such that in one end position of the handle illustrated inFIG. 1 the head 11 is moved as far as possible to the right by means ofthe spring 13, and accordingly also the ball 15 is moved as far aspossible to the right in such a way that the valve member may open. Ifthe handle 5 is pivoted counterclockwise from the position illustratedin FIG. 1, the

cam surface of the spring 27 will press the roll 28 and accordingly alsothe ball 15 inwardly. By this movement the ball 15 will press theauxiliary diaphragm 17 against the rivet 17a and close the hole of therivet and move the main diaphragm towards the seat 4. When the maindiaphragm contacts the seat 4 the socket 16 will press the diaphragmfirmly against the seat and will prevent further movement of the centralportion of the main diaphragm through the seat. The curvature of thespring 27 is designed in such a manner that the head I l of the stemduring continued movement of the handle 5 counterclockwise will bepressed to the left in FIG.

- 1. During this part of the closing movement of the han- 27 will passthe roll 28 which accordingly will be moved a small distance to theright by means of the spring 13 until further movement of the handle isstopped by abutment between a top end of the handle and the valvehousing 1. During the last part of this movement the ball 15 will bemoved a small distance to the left in FIG. 1 by means of the spring 14.The valve is now in the closed position which is stable due to the factthat the highest portion of the spring 27 has passed the roll 28.

During the shutting off of the flow area through the valve seat 4 thepressure prevailing in the inlet duct 2 will be transmitted through thehole 19 to the right side of the main diaphragm in FIG. 1 and supportthe closing movement of the main diaphragm by pressing it against thevalve seat 4. Accordingly, the main diaphragm will not close immediatelyand accordingly water hammering is avoided in case the valve is fittedinto a water supply system.

The valve is opened by pivoting the handle 5 to the position thereofillustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows the valve in the position which theparts thereof occupy immediately after the handle 5 has been pivoted tothe opening position. The spring 13 has moved the head 11 as far aspossible to the right with respect to the guide and has released theball 15 from contact with the auxiliary diaphragm 17. Due to the holes18 in the auxiliary diaphragm the same pressure prevails at both sidesthere-of, and accordingly the auxiliary diaphragm can immediately due tothe resiliency thereof occupy the position illustrated in FIG. 1 inwhich the auxiliary diaphragm has uncovered the hole through the hollowrivet 17a. The pressure prevailing at the right side of the maindiaphragm will now be released through the holes 18 and the hole throughthe hollow rivet 17a and accordingly, the inlet pressure prevailing atthe left side of the main diaphragm along the portion thereof positionedoutside the valve seat 4 will now lift the main diaphragm. Medium maynow flow through the seat 4 which is partly surrounded by ahorseshoe-formed duct 36, cf- FIG. 2, the upper portion of which is incommunication with the inlet duct 2.

Coaxially with the main diaphragm 7 and the auxiliary diaphragm 17 acylindrical recess 29 is provided in the valve housing 1 in whichcylindrical shank of a throttle member 31 is provided. The surface 32 ofthe throttle member 31 facing the main diaphragm is formed as a quarterof a cylinder and the shank 30 is sealed in the recess by means of asealing ring. The throttle member may be rotated by means of a pin 33which may be moved at the back side of the valve housing. A shoulderbetween the shank 30 and the throttle member 31 cooperates with acorresponding shoulder in the valve housing in order to preventwithdrawal of the throttle member 31. Moreover, a movement of thethrottle member 31 further inwards into the outlet duct 3 is preventedby abutment of the pin 33 against a collar 35 at the back side of thevalve.

By turning the pin 33 it is possible to pre-adjust the flow area throughthe valve. By turning the pin 33 also the cylindrical surface 32 will beturned, and will accordingly throttle the outlet duct 3 more or less.However, a complete shutting off of the outlet duct 3 can never occurdue to the fact that the distance between the shoulder of the throttlemember 31 and the top edge 37 thereof is less than the width of theoutlet duct 3.

The valve illustrated is mainly intended to be used as a wash stand tapbecause the pressure in the inlet duct 2 usually will be almostconstant, and accordingly it is possible by preadjusting the flow areaof the valve to achieve an appropriate flow rate through the valve inthe open position. Due to the fact that the adjustment of the flow areamust be made by means of the pin 33 at the back side of the valvehousing it is not immediately possible for the user to amend theadjustment once made, and accordingly the valve is suitable to be usedin hospitals and the like institutions in which a limitation of thewater consumption is important or it is important to be able to maneuverthe valve quickly without the flow rate being too high.

I claim:

1. Valve comprising a valve housing having an inlet duct and an outletduct between which a valve seat is provided, a resilient main diaphragmon said valve seat, the periphery of said main diaphragm being securedin a recess surrounding said valve seat and located a distance in frontthereof, an auxiliary resilient diaphragm, the peripheral edge of saidauxiliary diaphragm being secured to said main diaphragm at the side ofsaid main diaphragm facing away from said valve seat by means of asocket element arranged coaxially with said valve seat and having anouter diameter greater than the inner diameter of said valve seat, anopening being provided in said main diaphragm inside the periphery ofsaid auxiliary diaphragm and at least one opening being provided in saidauxiliary diaphragm offset with respect to said opening in said maindiaphragm, saidmain diaphragm being provided with at least one furtheropening arranged outside said valve seat and in communication with saidinlet duct, guide means in said housing for slidably guiding alongitudinally movable stem, one end of said stem facing said auxiliarydiaphragm and the other end of said stem facing said auxiliary diaphragmand the other end of said stem cooperating with a cam surface providedinside a pivotally arranged handle, said cam surface being arrangedeccentri cally with respect to the pivot axes of said handle, and thehighest portion of said cam surface being movable beyond said outer endof said' stem.

2. Valve according to claim 1 further comprising an adjustable throttlemember provided in one of said inlet and outlet ducts.

3. Valve according to claim 2, wherein said throttle member comprises acylinder, an end surface of which is formed as a part of a cylindersurface and projects into a knee formed by the outlet duct.

4. Valve according to claim 1 wherein said guide means comprises acylindrical guide for axially guiding said stem with respect to saidvalve seat, a spring positioned between said bottom of the cylindricalguide and the stem, said stem having a roll for cooperation with the camsurface at one end and a ball at the other end, the ball being biased bymeans of a spring for cooperation with the main diaphragm via theauxiliary diaphragm.

1. Valve comprising a valve housing having an inlet duct and an outletduct between which a valve seat is provided, a resilient main diaphraGmon said valve seat, the periphery of said main diaphragm being securedin a recess surrounding said valve seat and located a distance in frontthereof, an auxiliary resilient diaphragm, the peripheral edge of saidauxiliary diaphragm being secured to said main diaphragm at the side ofsaid main diaphragm facing away from said valve seat by means of asocket element arranged coaxially with said valve seat and having anouter diameter greater than the inner diameter of said valve seat, anopening being provided in said main diaphragm inside the periphery ofsaid auxiliary diaphragm and at least one opening being provided in saidauxiliary diaphragm offset with respect to said opening in said maindiaphragm, said main diaphragm being provided with at least one furtheropening arranged outside said valve seat and in communication with saidinlet duct, guide means in said housing for slidably guiding alongitudinally movable stem, one end of said stem facing said auxiliarydiaphragm and the other end of said stem facing said auxiliary diaphragmand the other end of said stem cooperating with a cam surface providedinside a pivotally arranged handle, said cam surface being arrangedeccentrically with respect to the pivot axes of said handle, and thehighest portion of said cam surface being movable beyond said outer endof said stem.
 2. Valve according to claim 1 further comprising anadjustable throttle member provided in one of said inlet and outletducts.
 3. Valve according to claim 2, wherein said throttle membercomprises a cylinder, an end surface of which is formed as a part of acylinder surface and projects into a knee formed by the outlet duct. 4.Valve according to claim 1 wherein said guide means comprises acylindrical guide for axially guiding said stem with respect to saidvalve seat, a spring positioned between said bottom of the cylindricalguide and the stem, said stem having a roll for cooperation with the camsurface at one end and a ball at the other end, the ball being biased bymeans of a spring for cooperation with the main diaphragm via theauxiliary diaphragm.